Ma Belle
by ElphabaLives4Ever
Summary: Evangeline wasn't always a star...a figment of Ray's imagination. There is more to the story than one might be lead to believe. Ray/Evangeline
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I'd just like to say before I start that I know next to nothing about the birth of fireflies, and any inaccuracies here are for the sake of plot enhancement. If you would like to get a lesson on firefly biology, I suggest you look elsewhere. That being said, enjoy!**

Manot waited with bated breath as he caught sight of a slight movement in his only surviving egg. He had previously been the proud father of eighteen, but after a horrible accident involving a low-flying egret, they had all tumbled into the waters of the bayou. His own dear wife, Madeleine, had dived into the water to retrieve them, and was able to toss one ashore, but after going straight back into the water after the others, Madeleine had drowned with her children.

Now, three weeks later, that egg was ready to hatch, and Manot could only hope that its plunge hadn't caused the child within it any harm. This child was, after all, all that Manot had left. He anxiously bit his lip as the egg began to crack. Then, all at once, Manot's daughter burst out of the egg.

"My girl," he said, looking down at the tiny firefly with tears in his eyes, "you look just like your mother."

And he was absolutely correct. The girl was a nearly perfect portrait of Madeleine, with her long, spindly legs and her enormous light green eyes. However, despite the memories of his poor, beloved deceased wife, Manot could hardly have been happier. His daughter was alive, beautiful, and as far as he could tell, perfectly healthy. There was only one final thing to be seen: her light.

Gently, Manot turned his child around so that he'd be able to see it clearly. Normally, a newborn firefly's light appeared within a minute after its birth. About an hour had passed, and again, the new father was getting nervous.

"I'm sorry, Manot," his mother said from behind him, making him jump, "but if she hasn't lit up yet, she never will."

Manot breathed a sigh of disappointment. Without a light, was she even a firefly? His daughter was headed for a difficult life.

"Ah, well…" he said, avoiding his mother's gaze, "What should I name her?"

"You could name it after Madeleine," she replied softly, unsure of whether or not the name would strike another chord with her son.

"No," he answered in a near whisper, "she never wanted to name her children after herself. She said it would make them less…individual."

He grimaced. Surely this was not what Madeleine had meant when she had said that her children would be different. She never would have wanted her daughter to go through the rejection and humiliation that now faced her. There was a long, anguished silence.

"Manot," his mother exclaimed suddenly, "do you remember the story I used to tell you when you were a boy?"

"The one about the hungry alligator?" Manot replied, wondering where on earth she was going with this.

"Don't be stupid, Manot!" his mother cried, "the _old_ story."

Manot instantly realized what his mother was talking about, and sent a small smile in her direction.

"Why don't you tell me again, Mama," he said, "my memory's a bit fuzzy."

"Once upon a time," the story began, as most children's stories do, "there was a young firefly who lived in this very bayou. She had _everything _a little girl could want; she had brains, beauty, the voice of an angel, but-"

"But she was missing one thing," Manot finished for her, "her light."

"That's right! And so the little firefly was very unhappy. And when the heavens saw how unhappy she was, they took her into the sky, and made her into-"

"A star. Thank you, Mama."

"I think you should name your little firefly after that one, Manot."

"So do I," Manot replied in a choked whisper, and he bent down to whisper in his daughter's ear.

"Always remember that you are a brilliant star, Evangeline."

**A/N- I know it's a very short chapter, and I apologize, but I believe in being concise when it's necessary. I just wanted to get a bit of a prologue up here. The next chapters will be far longer. Thoughts? Leave them in a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Evangeline soon grew to be a striking young woman. Manot knew that she would have broken the hearts of dozens of suitors. She was, after all, her mother's daughter. Yes, Evangeline was surely one of the loveliest of fireflies, and would have had a wonderful, simple, happy life ahead of her…had it not been for her missing light. There was no telling what would happen if anyone discovered that she lacked the attribute that a firefly values most, and Manot feared for his daughter. So, he resolved to keep her hidden away from judgmental, disapproving eyes, and kept her at home in their secluded little nest above the bayou. She would be lonely, but at least she would be safe.

Keeping Evangeline hidden proved more difficult than Manot had thought. Her appearance was not all that she had inherited from Madeleine; she also had her adventurous spirit. Evangeline loved her father dearly, and didn't wish to upset him, but she was unhappy in her confinement, with no company but her father and her now ailing grandmother.

"But Daddy, I'd be very careful!" she had told Manot time and time again, wishing to go out and fly with the other fireflies that she could only watch from a distance, "I'd stay high above the water, and I'd always watch out for birds. I see other fireflies out over the bayou every night! Why can't I just go and introduce myself?"

But Manot always gave her the same answer, "Evangeline, I'm only trying to protect you. I promise, you'll understand someday."

Secretly, Evangeline knew why her father wouldn't let her out. She wasn't an ignorant child, and she knew that she was different from the others, even from her father. She didn't glow like all of them could. Evangeline would sit out on the edge of the nest for hours at a time, looking out at the beautiful light the wandering fireflies cast into the darkness. It was like magic…magic that Evangeline could never perform, no matter how much she wanted to. She hated it. She hated the fact that she was different; she hated that she could never fit in with those who were most like her, and most of all, she hated the pain it caused her beloved father. Before her grandmother had fallen ill, she and Manot would have whispered conversations while they believed Evangeline to be asleep.

"Manot, you know that you'll have to let her out sometime," her grandmother would say.

"She's not ready yet, Mama," Manot would answer feebly.

"That's nonsense!" came an irritated reply, "She _wants_ to go out, son, and sooner or later, you won't be able to stop her."

"Mama, you know exactly what will happen if I let her out. They'll reject her at best. She'll be mocked and ridiculed, and God knows what else! I can't let that happen."

"You have no choice. Evangeline is the way she is, and eventually, you're going to have to accept it."

"I _have _accepted it!" Manot would cry, getting angry now.

"Have you really, son?"

And that would be the end of it. Evangeline heard these conversations, and knew that her father was ashamed of her. _You know I'd change if I could, Daddy_, she'd think to herself, _but I just don't know how_.

She would never have the courage to say this out loud, so she made a decision for herself. She would go out, whether her father wanted her to or not. Just once! All she wanted was to know what it was like to be outside of her nest _one time_, and then she would be satisfied. Her father would forgive her. He had to.

So, one night, after Manot had gone to bed, Evangeline crept out onto the edge of the nest, as she had so many times before, and looked out over the bayou. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of fireflies were zipping through the air, lighting up the night sky as they always did. Evangeline knew that she could not add to their light, but at least she would know how it felt to be with them, to fly with them. She would know what it was like to be free.

It would be easy, she thought. She'd seen her father do it a thousand times. All she had to do was jump of the edge and flap her wings, right? Well…there was only one way to find out. Mustering up all of her courage, she drew in a deep breath…and jumped.

She'd been wrong about flying. It wasn't easy at all. She soon discovered that her body sank like a rock through the air, and her poor wings didn't seem to have enough muscle to pull her up. She closed her eyes and flapped her little wings for all they were worth, and nothing seemed to work. She braced herself for the brutal impact of the ground.

But fate must have been smiling on Evangeline in that one crucial moment, for just before her helpless body hit the ground, she was grabbed by her left wing and being tugged upward.

"Whoa there, Cher, you gotta be more careful up here. Haven't you never flown before?"

It was the voice of her rescuer…a bit of a strange voice, with something of a Cajun accent. He reached dry land and gently set Evangeline onto the ground.

"I...I…"

"Hey…" he said, cutting her short, "How come I never seen you 'round the bayou before? You from some place far off?"

"I…no, not really."

"Come on, now, Cher, I never forgot a face in my whole life. Where you from?"

"I'm-"

"Aw, no, I'm bein' rude again, aren't I?"

"Oh, no, you're-"

"Oh yes I am. Grandma always be tellin' me it's not polite to ask you strangers all sorts of questions before I get to know y'all. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Ray…well, no it's not, it's Raymond, but everybody 'round here just calls me Ray."

**A/N: I planned to go on with this, but I have a plane to catch, and I figured that it would be better to leave you guys with something short than nothing at all. Unfortunately, I have a speech tournament in Nebraska, and I won't have access to a computer until Tuesday. You can expect a new chapter to be up by Wednesday. If you are so inclined, leave a review for me to read when I get home!**


End file.
